Escalation Lists

I posted previously that I had recently developed an extreme fascination for the Retribution of Scyrah. While this is still true, I found out what a large portion of that fascination was – list building. Writing up an army list renews your interest in whatever faction you are writing the list for. Case in point, I put together a little 15 point Cryx list led by Warwitch Deneghra and hey, presto! Instant motivation to get those models out of their blisters and onto the painting table. Truth be told, I have more motivation to paint up the Cryx list than the Scyrah one, since I already own all but one of the models in the Cryx list. And the one model that I don’t have should be here soon, as I already ordered it a few days ago. Sweet. Last time I said that I wouldn’t bore people by posting the Scyrah list I put together, but I have some bad news. I am posting my Deneghra one. I’ll use it to keep track of what I have finished and what still needs to be done. So here it is.

15 pt Warwitch Deneghra Escalation List

1x Warwitch Deneghra – +5 WJ pts
1x Defiler Bonejack – 5 pts
1x Defiler Bonejack – 5 pts

1x Bane Thrall Unit – 5 pts
(Leader and 5 Grunts)

1x Mechanithrall Unit – 3 pts
(Leader and 5 Grunts)

1x Brute Thrall – 1 pt
(Attached to Mechanithralls)

Total – 14 pts (+5 WJ pts)
Model Count – 16

Before you say that I can’t count, and the the above list totals 19 pts, be aware that Deneghra gives me 5 “free” points that I can spend only on Warjacks. That’s what the notation (+5 WJ pts) next to her entry means – plus 5 Warjack points. Those 5 pts are precisely enough to buy a “free” Defiler Bonejack, though as I have 1 point remaining (I’ve only used 14 of my 15 pts) I could replace one of her Defilers with a Slayer Helljack. I’ve got the model assembled, undercoated, and ready to paint. But the Slayer doesn’t have an Arc Node, meaning that Deneghra can’t channel spells through it, and that is what I really want to do. The spell Venom only costs 2 Focus allowing me to (hopefully) lay into an enemy unit/model with 4 SP 8 ranged attacks – 2 at POW 10 from Venom and 2 at POW 12 from the Defiler’s Sludge Cannons. Or I could channel either Crippling Grasp or Parasite through the Bonejacks before firing their Sludge Cannons, thereby lowering the DEF and ARM of the target and making it easier to hit and damage.

Besides, that’s why I put in the unit of Mechanithralls with the Brute Thrall attachment. Those little zombies (and the one not so little zombie) can do a lot of damage if they hit something with a charge attack. I plan to use them as my “heavy hitters”. It’s sort of an experiment in efficiency - the Brute Thrall can hit with a POW of 19 using his Combo Strike. If he gets in a charge attack, that’s an extra die when rolling for damage meaning he should get an average result of 29-30 (if you assume that the average roll of 3D6 is 10-11). Even the Khador heavy Warjacks only have an ARM of around 20. The Brute’s little zombie buddies should get an average result of 24-25 with a charge Combo Strike. If they all hit (which is unlikely, I know) they are churning out 33-40 points of raw damage (meaning damage in excess of the target’s ARM) even to an ARM 20 target. Which is just about enough to completely wreck a heavy Warjack. And the whole unit only cost me, what? 4 pts. When you compare that to the cost range of a heavy Warjack, which is anywhere from 6 to 10 points depending on the faction and Warjack, I have come out ahead. If they actually get to do their job that is. But if they do manage to do their job you can be damn sure I am buying another Brute Thrall with that 1 pt I have left over.